Fritto misto piemontese

Fritto misto (deep-fried assorted meat combined with deep-fried semolina and amaretti) is a typical recipe from Piedmont. It's rich in fat and calories but it tastes fantastic! It's a long-to-do recipe. So be patient but it is worth it!

Recipe for Piedmontese fritto misto

Preparation and cooking

- Calf brain and bone marrow. You need to plunge both the interiors in cold water for about an hour. Then you have to remove all thin peel and veins from brain and thin peel from bone marrow.
Put bone marrow in a little saucepan. Cover with cold, salted water and bring to a boil.
As soon as water is boiling, turn off the stove and transfer it to a plate with a skimming ladle.
Bring to a boil other salted water in another little suacepan, plunge brain and when water is boiling again turn off the stove.
Remove brain with a skimming ladle and put apart
Pat dry brain and bone marrow with absorbent kitchen paper and cut into pieces (look at the photo for more detail).
Beat all eggs with a pinch of salt. Dip brain and bone marrow pieces first into all-purpose flour, then into beaten eggs and at last into dry bread crums. Put all these pieces apart.

- Make semolina. Meanwhile put 250ml (8 1/2 fluid ounces - 1C) cold water in a little saucepan.
Add durum-wheat semolina together with sugar.
Let them boil on low heat, stirring continuously until they thicken.
Put semolina in a large deep plate. Level its surface with a spoon and let it cool.
You have to cut it into rhombs so be careful to its thickness. It must be neither too thin, nor too high.

- The other meats. Beat all lamb cutlets and incise their skin or remove it completely. Dip lamb cutlets first into all-purpose flour, then into beaten eggs and at last into dry bread crums. Put lamb cutlets apart.
Cut liver and veal escalopes into pieces. Bread them too in the same way. Put all these pieces apart.
Cut sausage into four or more pieces. Use the same method for breading. Put all these pieces apart.

- Look at the photo for more details about the size of all the pieces.

- Amaretti and semolina. It's time to bread amaretti following the same method. Put them apart.
Cut semolina into rhombs and make the same steps I've just described for other food. Put breaded semolina pieces apart.

- Deep-fry all the pieces. It's the last step and you have to fry just before serving the dish.
You need three non-stick frying pans.
Fry sausage pieces in the smallest pan.
Another little non-stick frying pan is necessary for amaretti and semolina pieces. Begin with biscuits but be careful: only few seconds for every side are necessary.
Fry the meat in the third pan. Begin with lamb cutlets, then fry veal and calf pieces and at last brain and bone marrow pieces.

Just before serving

- Arrange all the fried pieces on serving trays on which you have put absorbent kitchen paper to remove fat in excess.

- Now you can season to taste with salt.

- Serve immediately with lemon juice or lemon slices.

Note

Tips

- If you have no time to prepare semolina, you can buy ready made sweet semolina.

- Be careful veal cutlets aren't too thick. If they are too thick you can't cook them very well.

- I have only dipped sausage pieces into all purpose flour and didn't dip them in beaten eggs and plain dried bread crumbs as I prefer sausage in this way.

Menu planning

- Once fritto misto was served as antipasto in the restaurants but nowadays it is better to serve it as one plate meal accompanied by a lot of seasonal vegetables to let your friends and/or relatives enjoy something very special ;))

Healthy eating

- It is impossible to have the nutrition facts of fritto misto, Piedmont-style for some reasons. At first we can't know what is the right amount of all-purpose flour and plain dried bread crumbs used. These amounts can vary very much. The second problem is about the olive oil that is exactly used. Generally 100 to 200 kcal per 100 g of fried food are added but in this case the situation is complicated by the double breadcrumb coating. So you read n.c. (not calculated) in nutrition facts.

- I remember you deep-frying is not a healthy cooking technique. You have to deep-fry seldom.
At least choose the right oil. The best oil is olive oil or, as second choice, peanut oil.

- Assorted deep-fried meat, Piedmontese-style is a dish very rich in fat and calories. Make it seldom and accompany it with a lot of raw vegetables to have the right amount of fibers.